Pay the Reaper
by Dis Lexic
Summary: When Harry fell of his broom thanks to the Dementors, the last thing he was expecting was to end up working for Death herself. He also wasn't expecting her to be a little girl who was touchy about her height, but there you go. Rating subject to change
1. Chapter 1

Pay the Reaper

When Harry fell of his broom thanks to the Dementors, the last thing he was expecting was to end up working for Death herself. He also wasn't expecting her to be a little girl who was touchy about her height, but there you go.

**I decided to make this a full story cus I like the idea. I don't think I really have anything else to say, other than I hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 1

"Where am I?" asked Harry, looking around the dark space he now found himself.

The last thing the young Wizard remembered was falling off his broom after the Dementors swarmed the pitch and now he found himself in a dimly lit room with black upholstered furniture and a green fire burning in the grate.

"Good evening young master," said a voice from behind Harry, making him jump and spin in place.

Stood behind him in front of the door was a tall, handsome man with black hair, red eyes and pale skin, dressed in a butlers uniform.

"Who are you, where am I?" asked Harry, backing up a few steps, his hand twitching towards his wand, only to remember it was with his clothes in the Changing Rooms.

"My name is Sebastian Michaelis," said the butler with a bow, "As for where you are, that is for the mistress to explain. If you will follow me."

Sebastian turned and opened the door, stepping back to allow Harry threw. The boy hesitated for a moment, before leaving the room and following the butler down the hall. The hall was every bit as dark as the living room he had just left. It was lit with candles that burned with an eerie green flame and was decorated with finely crafted tables made of dark wood with ornaments or vases placed upon them. Harry examined the ornaments and quickly realized that they all had skeleton or scythe motefes and the flowers in the vases were either dead or poisonous. There were also paintings on the wall and they were all rather disturbing, showing scenes of death and torture. All of this together did not paint a particularly pleasant picture of Harrys host.

"Um, Sebastian was it?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes, what is it young master?" replied the butler.

"Who exactly is it we're going to see?"

"You'll see," said Sebastian with a smirk as he stopped outside a door, "We've arrived."

The black haired Butler opened the doors and stepped inside.

"Madam, your guest has arrived."

"Good, send him in."

The voice was cold and emotionless but clearly belonged to a young girl. Harry gulped and stepped through the door. The room on the other side was a dark study, furnished with the same dark wood and black leather, lit by a green fire burning in the grate and a pail silver light that leaked through the large window that dominated the wall behind the desk. Sat in a huge wingback armchair behind the desk was a young girl who looked to be about 11 years of age.

She had long, silver hair held back with a black headband, flawless, pale skin and blood red eyes that seemed to glow slightly. She was dressed in a black dress with white frills around the sleeves.

"Welcome Harry Potter," said the girl, "sit down, we have much to discuss."

Harry hesitantly sat in the indicated chair across from the girl.

"Who are you?" asked Harry, "And where am I?"

"I am Death," said the girl, "And you are currently in Limbo. The Dementor Aura, plus the fall from your Broom has put you into shock and your body will give out in the next 20 minutes. Tea?"

Harry stared at the girl wide eyed for a moment before a snort of laughter emerged from his mouth and he started chuckling. Deaths eyebrow twitched slightly, although her face remained impassive.

"And what is so funny?" asked the girl.

"You're Death?" asked Harry through his laughter, "You look like a firsty! Isn't Death supposed to be a towering skeleton with a scythe?"

Unnoticed to Harry, the girls eyebrow twitch was increasing and her eyes were narrowing in irritation. Sebastian, who was standing behind his Masters chair, began to edge away from the agitated girl, eyeing her wearily as he did. Eventually, the girls irritation peaked and, with a flicker of movement, a massive scythe shaped like a spine with a skull at the top slammed into Harrys chair an inch from his ear, clipping a few hairs. The green eyed boy immediately shut up.

"When you're quite done," said Death, her eyebrow still twitching.

"Sorry," said Harry.

Death pulled her scythe from the chair, the weapon transforming into black smoke and vanishing up her sleeve.

"Excellent, now pay attention," said Death, "You are going to die within the next few minutes, but the choice you make here will determine whether you stay or go."

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"Riddle has gone further than anyone else in history in his attempt to avoid me," said Death, ignoring Harrys question, "He has mutilated his soul and placed parts of it into objects to keep himself tied to the Realm of the Living. In doing so, he made his soul so unstable that, when his body was destroyed, a part of his soul broke away and latched onto the only living thing in the room. That was you."

Harry went green.

"You mean I've got a chunk of that bastards soul in me?" asked the teenaged after swallowing the bile that came up.

"Not any more," said Death, "I removed it. Sadly, I was too late to prevent it from staining your soul."

"What do you mean 'staining my soul'?" asked Harry.

Death sighed sadly.

"Souls are affected by the owners actions in life," she began, "Those who live normal lives have grey souls, absolute saints have white and monsters have black. It is extremely rare for someone to have a pure white or pure black soul, with most people having slightly tinted grey souls. If a soul comes into contact with another then they will leave marks on each other. Normally this doesn't amount to much as most people are grey. However, should a White or Black soul come into contact with another, it will stain that soul with that colour. It won't affect the person in any way, but a stained soul cannot enter the other Afterlife. In other words, if a person is stained White, they cannot enter Hell. On the other hand, a Soul stained Black cannot enter heaven. Tom Riddle has the blackest Soul I have ever seen and, in the scant second it was in contact with yours, it left a stain that could not be removed in a thousand lifetimes."

"So, what does that mean?" asked Harry, a feeling of apprehension rising in his chest.

"It means you were marked for Hell before toy turned two years old," said Death, "When your Soul passes on, the only place it can go is down, regardless of how you lived your life."

Harry felt as if the bottom had dropped out of his stomach. He still wasn't sure whether he believed this girl was Death or not yet, but some deep, instinctive part of himself told him she was telling the truth.

"So is that what you brought me here to tell me?" he asked, "That I'm Damned to Hell?"

"No," said Death, "Despite what people might think, I do care about the Souls in my care, especially those who are Marked unfairly."

She snapped her fingers and a blank, white mask appeared on the desk.

"I called you here to offer you a place among my servants, the Grim Reapers. If you agree, your Soul will be removed from the Cycle and you become Immortal. You will become one of the Guides of the Underworld and will spend the rest of time collecting Souls. The other option is you die and spend an eternity suffering for crimes you didn't commit until you get the chance at Reincarnation. Unfortunately, your Soul is so badly stained it will likely never be clean."

Harry sat for a moment, just staring at the mask on the desk. Was there even a choice here? Either spend eternity suffering in Hell for someone elses crimes or spend the next eternity ferrying Souls to the afterlife.

"What do I have to do?" asked Harry.

Death nodded and indicated to the mask.

"Put it on."

Harry reached out and picked up the mask and lifted it to his face. He hesitated for a moment, before steeling his nerves and putting it on. There was an explosion of dark red energy and Harry let out an agonized scream as he felt power scorch its way through his veins. He was vaguely aware of his body changing as the power rushed through him, but all of his attention was taken up by the fact it felt like someone was burning each individual nerve ending with a blowtorch. After what felt like hours, but was probably just minutes, the red energy was sucked back into Harrys body with a dull sucking sound and he was dropped to the ground, panting.

"Very impressive young master," said Sebastian, "I don't think I've ever witnessed a Birth quite that flashy. I think we can expect great things from you."

"Oh great, more expectations," muttered Harry, reaching up to rub his head which was still throbbing slightly. As he did, he paused as he saw his hands were now covered with white gloves.

"Here," said Sebastian, rolling a full length mirror from...somewhere.

Harry got to his feet and stepped in front of the mirror, taking in his new body. He was tall and thin, but clearly well muscled as his black bodysuit showed off quite nicely. His hands and feet were covered with white gloves and boots and he had a brown leather belt strapped around his waist from which hung a spiked, guillotine like weapon. His face was covered with a plain white mask with angular eyeholes and a black line denoting the mouth with two stitch like marks at the corners. His form was covered in a tattered, hooded cloak with a pair of pointed, earlike decorations pointing out of it. All in all, he was pretty intimidating.

"This is your Reaper Form," said Death, "In this state, you can access all of your powers and reap Souls. The full extent of your power you will have to learn yourself as each Reaper is different, but standard powers include flight, intangibility, invisibility, an almost complete immunity to all magic and teleportation. You can return to your human state by removing your mask."

Harry did so and immediately shrank back into his skinny human form.

"In human form, you will be stronger, faster and more sturdy than the average human, as well as heal quicker. You should also be able to use magic without a wand and no one will be able to lie to you without you knowing."

"That sounds useful," said the boy-turned-Reaper, "So what now?"

"Now you get back to your body," said Death.

"Wait, I can go back?" asked Harry, surprised.

"Indeed," said Death, her lip twitching slightly, "Your human life isnt over yet after all. Besides, my Reapers spend most of their time in the Human World doing as they please unless I have something for them to do."

She snapped her fingers and Harry was sucked through the floor and back into his body.

**And I'm going to end it there. I hope my explanation about the whole soul buisness made sense to everyone. I based Harrys Reaper Form on John Doe from Dream Eater Merry cus he looks really cool. And yes, that is Sebastian from Black Butler. Leave me a review on the way out!**


	2. Chapter 2

Pay the Reaper

When Harry fell of his broom thanks to the Dementors, the last thing he was expecting was to end up working for Death herself. He also wasn't expecting her to be a little girl who was touchy about her height, but there you go.

**And heres chapter two. A quick heads up, I will be referring to Harry as Felix in his Reaper Form. Enjoy!**

Chapter 2

Harry jolted awake, shooting upright and scaring the life out of his Teammates and friends who had been gathered around his bed looking like they had just been dragged through a muddy swimming pool.

"HARRY!" yelled Hermione as she grabbed him around the neck, soaking his pajamas.

"Whats wrong Hermione?" asked Harry, shocked at his friends extreme reaction.

Hermione was too busy sobbing into his chest to answer so it fell to Ron to do so.

"You were dead mate," said the Redhead who was looking rather pale, "Your heart stopped for nearly a minute."

Harry looked up at his other friend and was immediately assaulted by a sense of nausea as a wave of different colours flickered over his friends body as their eyes met. The most obvious ones were green, yellow, orange and pink, with a light blue almost eclipsing them, but there were also glimpses of violet and red. Harry had no idea what the colours actually meant, but some instinct within him warned him to be very careful around Ron as they were bad news.

* * *

The team stayed for another few minutes, just long enough to inform Harry that they had lost, before being shooed out by Madam Pomphrey. Ron and Hermione stuck around a bit longer, giving him the bad news about his broom, before they left to, leaving Harry alone, staring up at the ceiling. As he did, he became aware of something in his pajama top resting on his chest. He pulled out the object and saw the white mask Death had given him in the dream.

"So it wasn't a dream," muttered Harry.

"Nope, sorry about that."

The voice was so sudden and unexpected that Harry actually fell out of bed with a yelp.

"Must you always scare the new blood?"

"Aw, but its fun to watch them jump! Your mean Masquerade!"

"Urg."

Harry looked up and saw that the previously empty ward now had two additional occupants although they were most definitely not students or teachers. Both were wearing white masks, similar to his own, although they did have different designs.

The first person was a girl who, judging from her height and voice, was about 12. She had ravens wing black hair that was fairly short and stuck up around her head like a star and she was dressed in a white short with frills around the hem and sleeves and had a red ribbon around her neck, as well as a black skirt that reached her knees, pink and dark blue tights and black shoes. Her mask had seven cross shaped markings across the forehead, as well as a feather like pattern around the edge. In one hand she held a black umbrella with a ravens head shaped handle.

Her companion was a tall male dressed like a 19th century gentleman, complete with top hat. His mask was much more intricately decorated, resembling a Masquerade ball mask with patterns like coiling snakes on his cheeks and what looked like a cobra flaring its hood between his eyes. He held a black cane with a silver snakes head handle in his hand and seemed to be debating whether he should whack his companion with it as she whined about him being mean and boring.

"Who are you two?" asked Harry once he managed to get to his feet.

"We're Grim Reapers," said the man, "Lady Death sent us to get you started, show you the ropes as it were. My name is Masquerade Coil and this is…"

"Raven Cross, nice to meet you," said the girl, waving at Harry, "I hope we can be friends!"

"Um, sure," said Harry, a little taken aback by the energetic girl, "My name is Harry Potter."

"No its not," said Raven, pouting.

Harry blinked in confusion.

"Reapers have a human name and a Reaper name," explained Masquerade, "It helps keep our two lives separate. You'll learn yours after you put your mask on."

Harry looked down at the mask in his hand.

"Hurry up, we haven't got all night!" yelled Raven, stomping her foot, "Souls won't Reap themselves you know!"

Harry steeled himself for the upcoming pain and put on the mask. There was a flash of red light and Harry suddenly found himself in his Reaper form with no pain whatsoever.

"It only hurts the first time," said Masquerade helpfully, "Now, why don't you introduce yourself properly?"

"I'm Felix Chaser," said Harry.

"YAY a new friend!" yelled Raven as she appeared in front of the new Reaper and grabbed him into a rib crushing hug that rivaled Hermiones.

"Raven...can't...breath!" gasped Felix as the tiny girl tightened her grip even more. It was probably a good thing he could no longer die or he would be on his way down.

Once Raven had been pried of Felix and the red cloaked Reaper had gotten his breath back, Masquerade reached into his coat and pulled out a list.

"Right, now Ravens no longer killing you, I can tell you where we're going," he said, ignoring the girl as she stuck her tongue out at the other Reaper, "We have been assigned to collect a group of three Souls who are about to die from Heart Attacks. On a side note, Lady Death has said you may enjoy this one Felix."

Felix frowned under his mask.

"What makes her say that?" he asked.

"You'll see," was his reply, before Masquerade grabbed his shoulder and vanished in a swirl of shadow.

* * *

The shadow faded as they arrived and Felix staggered slightly, shaking his head to clear the dizziness that accompanied the transport and trying to keep from throwing up in his mask.

"Don't worry, you get used to the feeling," said Masquerade as Raven appeared in a swirl of shadows, giggling as she spun in place.

"A little warning next time," gasped Felix before he straightened up and looked around, "Hey wait a second, isnt this Privet Drive?"

And indeed it was. The three Reapers were stood at the end of the perfectly ordinary and utterly boring street with its perfectly pruned gardens, perfectly shined cars and perfectly cut lawns.

"Our targets live at Number Four," said Masquerade, leading the way down the street, reading from the paper as he did, "Vernon, Dudley and Margery Dursley, all of whom are destined to die from heart attacks due to their already poor health, excessive drinking and substance abuse."

He stopped outside of the house and tucked the orders away in his jacket.

"Felix, are you alright?" asked Raven, looking at the new Reaper who was clenching his fists.

"I'm fine," said Felix.

"Lets get started," said Masquerade.

The tall Reaper stepped over the low wall around the garden and walked up to the door, phasing through it followed by his companions. They found themselves in the hall with the sounds of the TV coming from the living room.

"Won't they see us?" asked Felix as Masquerade stepped through the door of the room.

"Humans don't have the capacity to see Death," said Raven, "We can be seen if we will it, but otherwise we're completely invisible to them."

She stepped through the door after Masquerade with Felix on her heels. As they entered the room, Felix saw Masquerade standing over the overlarge corpse of Marge Dursley as Vernon tried to wake her up and Petunia was on the phone.

"What's with him?" Asked Felix.

"Hes judging her Soul," said Raven, "When we Reap a Soul, we decide where to send it, up or down. We can view their entire life in an instant and decide what sort of person they were from it. Thats where the whole Life flashing before your eyes thing comes from."

As Raven finished speaking, Masquerade let out a gasp and shook his head.

"What an utterly foul woman!" he exclaimed, "Although now I know why Lady Death chose these _people _for your first Reaping Felix."

The way he said people clearly said that he had several other words he'd like to use to describe them.

"Why, does he know them?" asked Raven cureously.

"You'll see when you Reap them," growled Masquerade, leaning back against the wall, "I'm going to need a drink when we get back from this job."

"Was she really that bad?" asked Raven.

Instead of answering, Masquerade just pointed at Dudley. Raven shrugged and skipped over to where Dudley was sitting with his eyes glued to the TV screen, despite the fact his Aunt had just suffered a heart attack, still stuffing his face. The girl lifted her umbrella and pressed a button on the handle, causing a short blade to appear from the tip. She winked at Felix before she drove the blade into Dudleys chest. A bright light emerged from the routed boy as he clutched at his chest and started gasping, his eyes bulging out of his head, before he went limp. Raven remained where she was, her eyes closed and her brow furrowed.

"Are you OK Felix?" asked Masquerade in a quiet voice once Raven was occupied.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Felix.

"Are you sure, I mean they are your family, no matter how badly they treated you."

"Masquerade, let me tell you something," said Felix, turning to face the older Reaper, "I have never considered these animals my family, only people who are related to me. This place is not and never will be my home."

He turned away from Masquerade who looked thoughtful. Felix glanced over at Vernon and Petunia who were now frantically trying to wake up Dudley and for the first time noticed that, dispate the fact they were clearly screaming, he couldn't hear them.

"Why can't I hear them?" he asked.

"We are currently on a different plane of existence to them," explained Masquerade, "Its why they can't see or hear us. We can see them, but not here them unless we will it. It comes in helpful when Reaping Souls since screaming gets annoying after a while."

The older Reaper caught his protegees look.

"Don't look at me like that," he said, "You try spending centuries Reaping Souls and tell me that people screaming don't get annoying."

"Thats cold," said Felix.

"Most Reapers are. Its kind of necessary for the work we do. Trust me, after a few years you'll be viewing grieving families as an annoyance as well."

Felix opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a small body slamming into his back and knocking him over with an openly sobbing Raven clinging to his back as tears ran from the eyeholes of her mask like a river.

"OH FELIX, I HAD NO IDEA YOU HAD SUCH A HORRIBLE CHILDHOOD!" she howled as she gripped him tightly, once more cutting off his air supply and making his ribs creek worryingly.

"GAH! Its OK Raven, now get off before you break my spine!"

After a few minutes, Raven had finally calmed down and let go of Felix, although she was still sobbing slightly. Felix stood behind Vernon, looking down at his Uncle as he tried to save his Sons life and lifted his guillotine like weapon, before bringing it down on the fat mans head. There was a brilliant flash of light and Felix found himself standing in a large, white hall with a lift on one side and a deep pit on the other. Stood opposite him in white robes was Vernon who was looking extremely confused.

"Where am I?" asked Vernon.

"In the space between Life and Death," said Felix, the words flowing from his mouth unbidden.

Vernon started at the sound of his voice and spun around to face him.

"What the blazers are you talking about?" demanded the walrus like man.

"This place is the Courtroom, the place where Souls are judged," said Felix, inwardly wondering where the words were coming from, "I am Felix Chaser, a Grim Reaper and you, Vernon Dursley, are dead."

Vernons jaw dropped and his eyes bulged for a second, before a nervous laugh escaped his mouth.

"O-oh I see, this is a prank, right?" he asked, "Yes, very funny. Now if you would just let me go, I need to go and make sure my son and sister are all right."

"This is no joke," said Felix, "Now, you will be judged."

**And I'm going to end it there. I know its a bit of a dick move, but I don't really care. I hope you liked Masquerade and Raven since there going to be appearing again. Leave me a review on the way out!**


	3. Chapter 3

Pay the Reaper

When Harry fell of his broom thanks to the Dementors, the last thing he was expecting was to end up working for Death herself. He also wasn't expecting her to be a little girl who was touchy about her height, but there you go.

**And we're back and I am forced to tell you lot to please log in if you want a question answered or I won't answer it! However, since the question was a good one I'll answer it anyway. Harry/Felix's weapon takes the form of a Guillotine shaped sword with spike like blades on the sides. For a picture just type Chaser John Doe into google and thats what Harrys Reaper form looks like. Now then, enjoy!**

Chapter 3

Felix snapped his fingers and a bright light began to shine from Vernons chest, before a black film reel canister with a white skull emerged and flew into the air where it opened and began to unravel, projecting the images of Vernons life onto the walls from birth right through to the moment Felix's Scythe reaped his Soul. It looked like Vernon had grown up a lot like Dudley did, spoilt rotten by bigoted and ignorant parents who were every bit as foul as there son and daughter. The man had never done a single decent thing in his life and it made the judgment easy, even without Felix's own beef with the man.

"The judgment is complete," said Felix as the pit began to glow and boil, spectral arms reaching out and grasping at the air, "Vernon Dursley, you have lived a shallow and selfish life, full of greed and pride. Your sins are numerous and have marked your soul for the burning depths."

The pit exploded and a huge number of spectral limbs erupted from it, grabbing onto Vernons arms and legs before the fat man even had time to process his ruling.

"Wait, you can't do this!" yelled Vernon, "Its not fair!"

"And why are you so concerned with fairness now?" asked Felix, "Is it fair that you sacked your secretary because she happened to be attracted to other women? Is it fair that you ignored your sons wrongdoings and illegal activities while blaming them on your nephew? Is it fair that you forced me to sleep in a cupboard for 11 years because of something outside of my control?"

"No, no, no!" yelled Vernon as he tried to fight against the hands dragging him towards the pit, "Help me! I'll do anything, just don't let them take me!"

The hands yanked Vernon of his feet, slamming him into the white floor, dazing the man and allowing the hands to drag him fully into the pit with a yell. A blast of fire erupted, before the white world began to fade, revealing the Dursleys living room. Felix blinked behind his mask, before a hand rested on his shoulder. He looked around to see Masquerade looking at him with concerned eyes.

"Are you OK Felix?" he asked, "The first Reaping can be rough and, whether you like it or not, he was your Uncle."

"I'm fine," said Felix, "Really, I'm 100%."

Masquerade didn't seem convinced, but relented none the less.

"Well, time to go," said the older Reaper, "I'm going to get a drink. You coming Raven, Felix?"

"Yep," chirped Raven, before grabbing Felix's arm and looking up at him with puppy dog eyes, "You'll come to, right Felix?"

The red cloaked Reaper made the mistake of looking down at the smaller girl and was immediately ensnared by the huge, shimmering eyes that gazed out of the eyeholes of her mask.

"A-alright, I guess it couldn't hurt," he said.

"YAY!"

Raven dragged Felix out of the room with a chuckling Masquerade following after them. Once they got outside of the house, the top hat wearing Reaper reached into his jacket and pulled out a card which he swiped in mid air, leaving a short, golden line of light. The light extended up and down until it was about the size 7 foot in height, before it seemed to expand, creating a glowing tear in space. There was a dinging sound and the light dimmed to reveal...the interior of a lift. Felix blinked in confusion as the one occupant of the lift, a young man with green hair, closed eyes and a brown uniform, bowed to them.

"Greetings, I hope you weren't waiting long," said the man.

"Not at all," said Masquerade, entering the lift with Raven dragging Felix behind him, "Floor 15 please."

"Right away," said the operator, pressing the requested floor button.

The doors shut with a thud and the lift started moving.

"Em, if you don't mind me asking, where are we going?" asked Felix.

"The bar of course," said Masquerade, "Best place to be after a hard days work. Plus, theres still some things that need to be explained and I figure this is as good a place as any."

"O...K?" said Felix.

At that moment, the lift arrived and the doors opened, allowing the three Reapers out.

"Thank you very much," said the operator, bowing them out, before the lift doors closed.

Masquerade lead the way down a hallway with bathrooms on either side, done in dark shades of blue and purple, with a red tile floor. The hallway opened up into a large, dimly lit bar room with a few fishtanks, a large chandelier, dark purple couches scattered around the room and a piano with what appeared to be a mannequin sat at it. Directly opposite the exit of the hall was the bar with several shelves stocked with fine wine and alcohol and a beautiful centerpiece with a circular design. Stood behind the bar, polishing a glass, was a man with messy, silver hair, blue eyes and a bartenders uniform.

"Evening Decim," said Masquerade as he approached the bar and sat on one of the stools, "The usual please."

"Good evening," said the man with a slight bow, "Would you mind removing your masks? I am expecting some guests soon."

"Of course," said Masquerade, reaching up and removing his mask. There was a quiet whooshing sound and his tailcoat and top hat transformed into a smart and expensive looking suit.

Under the mask, the Reaper was revealed to have a handsome face with pale skin, slicked back, jet black hair and dark eyes, as well as a small goatee that covered his chin and a thin mustache on his upper lip.

"Nice suit Sal," said Raven as she removed her mask.

In her human form, her hair fell out of its spiky style and fell to her mid back. She had a pretty, elfin face, with grey eyes that sparkled with sharp wit and good humor. She was dressed in a purple dress under a white lab coat.

"Can it Row," said Sal, taking a swig from the drink the bartender put in front of him, "Right Felix, take your mask of and park your ass."

Felix complied, only to remember that he was wearing his pajamas.

Row snickered at his attire, before waving a hand and transfiguring the PJs into a simple jeans and t-shirt combo.

"You can use magic?" asked Harry.

"Naturally, I wouldn't be much of a witch if I couldn't," said Row with a grin, before she sat on one of the stools and downed the glass Decim put in front of her in one go, "Another!"

Sal sighed and turned to Harry as he sat next to the older man.

"Alright, lets get this started," he said, "The first thing I need to tell you is that what happened tonight is something of an oddity."

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"Normally we can't Judge human souls as soon as we Reap them," explained Sal, "We only do that for the obvious choices for Heaven and Hell, the ones with stained Souls. For most, the people who lived normal lives and have grey Souls, we don't have the capacity to make a decision. So, we compile their life and send it off to the Arbiters, like Decim here."

He pointed at the bartender who was mixing another drink for a tipsy and giggling Row.

"Its there job to Judge grey Souls and decide where to send them. When they decide on whether a Soul is going up or down, they hand them over to the Boatmen who do the actual ferrying of the Soul to whatever afterlife they're destined for, depending on their beliefs. You following?"

"I...think so," said Harry.

"Try *hic* giving him *hic* a visual aid," mumbled Row, before her head hit the bar with a thump and snoring was heard from her.

"Not again," muttered Sal, "That girl cannot hold her liquor."

The man sighed, before waving a hand and summoning a whiteboard into existence.

"Alright, this is the structure of the Grim Reapers. At the top is Lady Death. Shes the one who decides who dies and when. Below her is the Angels of Death, Ignotus, Nona and Azrael who head the three different groups of Grim Reapers and manage who Reaps what Souls and the like.

Ignotus is in charge of the Reapers, thats us, and is the one who assigns us Souls to Reap and generally makes sure we don't Reap those were not supposed to.

Nona is in charge of the Arbiters, the ones responsible for Judging the vast majority of the Souls we collect. They are also responsible for maintaining the balance of Souls in Heaven and Hell.

Azrael is in charge of the Boatmen who are the ones to actually take the Souls to their afterlife, as well as the ones responsible for deciding which Souls are ripe for reincarnation."

As he was talking, Sal had been drawing a diagram on the board that depicted the setup of the Grim Reapers.

"You get all that?"

Harry nodded.

"I think so," he said.

"Good, now drink up," said Sal, dismissing his board with a wave of his hand and downing his drink with the other.

"Em, I'm not old enough to drink," pointed out Harry.

"Thats fine, I have some non-alcoholic drinks," said Decim, reaching under the bar and putting a bottle of Butterbeer on the bar.

"Thanks," said Harry, taking a swig of the buttery beverage.

The three Reapers drank in silence for a short while, before Harry finished his drink and stood.

"I should probably be going," he said, "I have school in the morning."

"Before you do, take this," said Sal, handing Harry a card like the one he had used to summon the lift, "It will allow you access to the Death Tower, our Headquarters. I look forward to working with you again."

"Thanks for the help," said Harry, before turning and heading to the lift.

* * *

"So, what do you think of him?" asked Sal.

"Hes a credit to Godrics house," said Row, sitting up with all trace of drunkenness gone, "But he also has the qualities of ours and Helgas as well. I think he'll go far, both as a Wizard and as a Reaper."

"One can only hope," said Sal, "Lets also hope he can do something about that Death fearing descendant of mine."

"You worry too much Sal," chuckled Row, "Cheer up and drink up!"

Sal chuckled and picked up the glass in front of him.

"To good health," he said, holding out his glass.

"To getting drunk enough to forget your own name!" said Row, clinking her glass against Sals and downing it, before falling over backwards with a crash.

**And I'm going to leave it there. I hope my explanation of how the Grim Reapers are set up makes sense after all that. And yes, I did steal the bar and the arbiters from Death Parade, but thats the extent of it. This is not and never will be a crossover. I don't think I need to spell out for you who Raven and Masquerade are really, do I? I'm sure everyone guessed when there real names were revealed. Now, I'm gonna sign of here, so leave me a review!**


End file.
